Palo Alto has not been a hot bed of foreclosure activity. In the last year there have been 8 sales of bank owned homes, condos, and townhomes out of over 500 sales. 1-2 % foreclosures is not much. However, there is a disturbing trend. Currently there are 13 homes, condos, and townhomes scheduled for trustee sales in the next month and 3 that have already been foreclosed but are not on the market.
A trustee sale is the last step in the foreclosure process. This is when the property is either returned to the bank, or sold to someone for all cash who can pay off all the liens. While not all 13 of those homes will actually be sold at trustee sales in the next month, I suspect that at least 10 will over the next month or 2. So that will be more homes foreclosed in 2 months (hypothetically) than in the last 12 months combined.
I hope I am wrong, but if I am not, this does not bode well for Palo Alto's current booming market. Even if these homes are sold at market value for Palo Alto, the psychological impact this could have on buyers is very likely to depress some of the irrational exuberance in this market.
If you have any questions about foreclosures in San Mateo or Santa Clara County please feel free to contact me.
Marcy Moyer C.D.P.E.
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
D.R.E. 01191194
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